Apparatus for the training of the muscles



Nov. 1, 193s. s.. G. svl-:NSSON 2,135,018

APPARATUS FOR THE TRAINING OF THE MUSCLES IYJLLZ. 4

" SVEN GUSTAF SvENssoN Nov. 1, 1938. s. G. svENssoN APPARATUS FOR THE TRAINING OF THE MUSCLES Filed Oct. 22, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (CU ze Maar 29' Goa Patented Nov. 1`, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE *i f APPARATUS FOR THE TRAINING?V F THE MUSCLES l v t Sven Gustaf Svensson. Buenos Aires, Argentina A Application October22`, 1936, Serial No. 107,091

-This invention relates to an apparatus which concerns the training of the muscles, specially adapted for those lesions that have been caused byV infantile paralysis, and other diseases of the- A 51!A muscles; and is essentially a new type of appa- Vratus that permits one to effect in a very simple and easy manner a perfect periodic control of the physical movements of patients and convalescents Y I from muscular diseases, allowing at the same time,Y

" by means of the exercise` derived from the repeat- `ed use of this apparatus, v.the training of the muscles affected by these diseases.

`The invention has in View other objects which will be understood in the course of this specificaltion, and will be made prominent in a special way in the appended claims. -1 1' In order that this 1 invention may be,` clearly w understood and put into practice with the greatest ease, it has been represented byjthe accompany- 201mg diagrams,inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a fun-side view of this newkindxof apparatus for muscletraining, which is the object of this invention. 1 1

Fig'. 2 is a sectional plan at A-'-A of the su porting column of the apparatus in which can be clearly seen the arrangement of the circular scales used for regulating `the angular position of theV arms; 1

Fig. 3 is a detailed side View of the indicator represented in Fig. 2; 1 1

4 'is a side view" of `the' principal arms of the apparatus. 1

Fig. 5 shows a frontview of the arm used for holding the patients limbs (arm or leg) 1 .Fig 6 isa plan View of the graduated scales which regulate the main arms of the apparatusand the' radial indicators limit the extent of the movement-and Fig. 7 isa front view of the stirrup in whichthe patients foot or handlies.

Fig. 8 is a diagram for determining the position of a pulley. Y y

The-same parts shown in dierent diagrams bear the same reference numbers throughout. 1 The principal support 'isa Acombination of the vertical pipe I with two or three legs 2 strengthened by cross-braces 3 or any other arrangement. Legs 2 are provided with levelling screws 4.

' The whole apparatus can be raised or lowered* by the movement of pipe 5 in` column I, vand can be lsecured in'any position by means of screw 6. Raising or lowering can be effected by mechanical or other means. The upper part of column 5 has two revolving horizontal arms l, la, which p may be secured in any desiredposition by tighten.

the position of the arm. Sliding graduated rods Il)` I5-I5a are provided in the arms-with suitable means for securing them in any position; at the outer ends of these rods are sheaves lli-Ilia theY object of which will be described below. VIn the lower section of column 5 there isa heavy supporting arm l'l made of structural steel or sheet steelsuitably joined to provide a rigid structure,

and at the end of the rigid arm Il are the articu- ,i

latedsections a, b and. c, attached byvertical hinges (Fig. 4). are constructed of parallel tubes I8aand` I8b, and joined together by T-shaped irons to which are attached the hinge partsV 20a- 2013.

An extensible sliding member consisting of tubes 2ML-2lb, Working within tubes Ilia-ISI), `25 and joined `at their outer ends by Vcross-pieces 22a-22h, preferably made of T-ironis attached to the matching parts of the hinge 23a-23h,

whichtogether with 20b1and 20c are'j'oined together by the hinge pins 3`Ib-3'Ic. 30

The outermost hinged partis comprised of ka heavy plate 2liV attached to hinge 20c. Similarly,

section Vais hinged'to the fixed arm I1.

In order to adjust the lengths of the extensible sections a and b1, lscrews 21a- 2lb with knurled 35 lheads 28a-8b are provided and workin tubes The outer ends of these screws are supported in suitable holes in the crosspieces 22a-22h.

Referring'to Figures 14 and 6 it will be'seen 40 that graduated scales 29a, 29h and 29e are Vprovided at each hinge to establish the angularity of thearticulated sections'a, b and c. y

The discs 'are slightly raised to prevent fouling in the' section nextl ahead'. p 45 Above theV circular scales 29a, 29h?, 29cjare a pair of radial arms 30a, 3812,' 3Go, whichare emt ployed -to limit the angular movement of the articulated sections a, b and c. These radial arms 5 centered on 3Ia1,"3lb, `3Ic, can be adjusted angularly toany desired position by reference to the fixed circular scales 29a, 29h, 29C, graduated from 0 to 130 in either direction. yThe arms may be xed inv any position by means of screws and 5511 The articulated sections a and b' 20 projecting pieces from clamps 39.

patient.

wing-nuts 34; the screws engage in circular slots 33.

A fixed stop 35a, 35h, 35o, limits the angular movements of sections a, b and c between the aforesaid radial arms. A slender vertical rod 36 is attached to the outer part of section c while similar, but inclined, rods 36a and 36D are xed to the inner position of discs 29h and 29e. A cable 31 is attached to the upper extremity of the rod 36 and is guidedaround grooved pulley I6, and at its free end is attached a counterweight 38.

Similarly, a cable 31a may be attached alter.-A

natively to the upper'ends of inclined rods 36a or 36h. This cable passes over zgroovedpulley. IliaVY and at its free end is attached a counterweight 38a. On sections a, b, c are provided stirrups formed as follows: Shaped strips of metal 39 are clamped to pipes I8 and 26 offsections a and b, by.V

means of suitable screws or similar means (Fig. 5). Horizontal tubular supports 40 are fixed to these strips and these are provided withextensible ranged a plate of sheet metal 46 capable of vertical adjustment within theupright guides 42. A largeaperture 41 in plate 46 permits the passage of the `patients limb, which is supported in the long curved sheet metal rest:49'held in'turn on a shorter curved support 48 xed to part 46. Plate'46-ca'n be adjusted vertically in guides 42 by means of a small lever 5I hooked `into the hole 52 in this plate.

This lever has a fulcrum 53 which is formed by A bolt with a Wingnut 54 is provided in the fulcrum. By loosening `this nut, and raisingor lowering lever 5|, plate 46 can be lowered or raised to any desired position and'there held by re-tightening the wing nut 54;

In the outermost articulated section c, another" nut 58.

At'the lower end of the U-shapedisupportis a tubular extension 59 in the'vertical hole of which is slidably mounted a rod 66 Asupporting a specially shaped ring6l, as shown in Fig. '7. The position of ring 6l', relative to the extension 59, canbev adjusted vand fixed 4by means of'thumb-scr'ew 62.

Method of using the apparatus The patients arm or leg is -placed wwithin'the stirrups'49a, 49h and 6| of each of the sections a, b and c of the main arm of the apparatus. Toy

effect this,V the patient should beplaced lying down on his side or back, or assuming any other convenient position, on a table placed longitudinally, transversely or obliquely with regard to the the articulations of the arm at points corresponding with the shoulder, elbow and 'wrist of the The length of the sections can be adjusted by means of screws 28a and 28h. Stirrup 49a supports the arm, 49h the fore-arm and 6l the hand. Stirrup 6l can be so arranged as to support the hand with the palm lying either in a vertical or horizontal plane, according to particular groups of muscles to be subjected to treatment. Alternative supporting possibilities of ring El are shown in Fig. 7. To place the arm and fore-arm of the patient, in the stirrups 49a and 49h, pins 45, ofcross-bars 43.must previously be removed.

The cross-bar 43 must be swung out of position and, unhooking lever 5l, the plate 46 can be removed from its frame, and the patients arm inserted. Plate"46i is replaced in position and secured by reversing the operations. After the stirrups have been adjusted to the correct height, the arm and fore-arm of the patient are accommodated within the stirrups 49a and 49D, and the hand is` inserted within the stirrup 6l so that the palm lies in a vertical, or a horizontal, plane according tothe treatment required; If the articulation of the shoulder is to be subjected to exercise, the radial arms 30h and 30C should be closed' togetherrat the zero positionon the scale (Fig. 6), thus locking the'pins 35h and v35e and preventing any movement yof hinged sections b and c. The' radial arms should be secured inthis` position by' means of the respective wing nutsv34. Sections b and'c will be in a rigid straight line. Radiall arms 30a are secured intheir extreme positionsy and, thus, only hinge 25a, corresponding to the patients shoulder, is freeto rotate. Them-cable: 3'la'shouldbe unhookedfrom the rod36b and hooked on to the rod 36a. At the same time the# horizontal revolving bar'la will be lowered until the cable is perfectly horizontal; To commence the exercise, the bar 'la and the graduated rod I5 must be placed approximately in the requiredpositiomiirst noting the extent of movement of the limb-,withoutthe counterweight. Y f

Todo thisg'one ofl the radial' arms 30 is secured at the zero position and the .other'radialiiarmis left free, and during the 'articulation ofthe limb the locking pin-.35 of the hinged arm willk push this radialA arm-as seen in Fig. 6`and should then be secured inzthat extremeposition; The maximum angular movement can be read from@ the scale. f

To determine the positionoi'V pulley, ISa, thefollowing method is used referring toFigs8.- With centre 25a and radius equal to the distance1be-' tweenrcentres 25a and 25h, an imaginary horizontal circle is drawn. At the point of intersection on the circumference of the imaginary circle and the radius which bisects the angle'of maximum movement,v as` shownk on the circular scale,

a tangent is drawn and continued `to meetthe normal centre line of section a; this point coincides with the position' of the pulley.

' In practice it is better to place the pulley slightly further away from the column, which 'allows a free movement of `the mechanism. Replacing the bar la and the rod |511, in position, and securing them,.thel apparatus is ready for use.V

The position of the xed indicator lla and the length of the sliding rod l5a yshould be noted,

and the patient should be caused `to movehisarm. towards, the side required. The patient4 should now exert hisstrength to move his arm in the stirrups 49a, 49h and6l and thus move sections a, b and c tending lto raise counterweight 38a..

Heavier counterweights should be supplied as the patient proceeds gaining in strength, and as: the treatmentproceeds.

cising 'th'e elbow or the wrist.

stopped, as `has previously been described. As

before, the approximate position of the bar 'la and the rod Ia, must be determined, as already shown.

The patient will only be able to move the two I sections b and c about hinges 25h, overcoming the action of the counterweight 38a. In the latter case, to exercise the wrist, the movement of sections aA andb at hinges 25a and 25h, is stopped and only section c is allowed to move, cable 31a is removed while cable 31 and its pulley is hooked on to the end of rod I5, lowering bar 'l until the cable stretched-between pulley I6 and rod 36 is horizontal. To determine the position of bar 'I and extensible rod I5, similar means are employed to those used in the preceding cases; after which bar 'I is secured in position by screw 8 or its equivalent. Takingnote of the position of the indicator I I on circular scale I0 and of the bar I5, these should be kept for future reference.

A further use of this apparatus, in addition to the control of physical development, is the retraining of the muscles the function of which may have been impaired by disease. To secure good results, a systematic 'use of the apparatus must be made, and as the patients strength increases, the weight of the counterweights 38 and 38a. must be correspondingly increased.

1.` New apparatus for re-training the muscles of the human body, preferably adapted to cases of lesions produced by infantile paralysis and other muscular diseases, comprising in combination: a main arm adequately connected to a supporting frame provided wilth means for varying the height and angular rotation thereof, the said main arm being formed of three independent sections hinged to each other and to the xed support, on pivot points located at horizontally spaced positions; extensible means permitting a variation of the distances between the said pivot points; means to lock individually each one of the said sections and to adjust the angle of rotation of each of them relative to its neighbour sections; graduable means designed to oppose gradual resistance to the rotatory movement of the said sections; and supporting means for the suspension and adjustment of the patients limb at the main arm of the apparatus.

2. New apparatus for re-training the muscles of the human body, preferably adapted to cases kof lesions produced by infantile paralysis and other muscular diseases, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two central sections lof the main arm are formed of pairs of elements sliding with respect to each other, provided with screw, rackor other convenient means to effect longitudinal displacement of one element relative to the other.

3. New apparatus for re-training the muscles of the human body, preferably'adapted to cases of lesions produced by infantileparalysis and other muscular diseases, as claimed in claim 1, wherein at a point coinciding with each ofthe pivots of the sections ofthe main arm, is provided a disc fixed to one of said sections and carrying at its centre two small rotatable arms provided with means for locking the arms to the disc in any of their angular positions, the

said arms acting as stops of a movement limiting rod secured to the adjacent-section of the'lsaid main arm. l

4. New apparatus for rel-'training -thelmuscles/ ofthe human body, preferably adapted to cases.

of lesions produced by infantile paralysis and other muscular diseases, as claimedin-claim 1, wherein at a point coinciding with Yeach of the pivots of, the sections of the main arm is provided a disc ixed to one of said sections vand carrying at its center two small rotatable arms provided with means for locking the arms to the disc in any of their angular positions, the said 'arms acting as stops of a movement limiting rod secured to the adjacent section of the said main arm, and wherein the xed disc, of each of the sections of the main arm is provided with two angular scales, drawn symmetrically in Vopposite directions, from ar common zero position to an approximateangle of 140.

5. New apparatus for re-training lthemuscles of the human body, preferably vadapted to cases of lesions produced byfinfantile paralysis and other muscular diseases, as claimedV in claim l, wherein at the upper end of the supporting frame of the main arm, are adapted extensible and conveniently graduated arms 'provided with means for altering the height and angular displacement thereof, the free end ofeach of these arms carrying a grooved pulley around which passes a cable or the like provided at one of its ends with an adequately weighted counterweight, the other end of said cable being secured tothe end of one, or other, of small rods rigidly mounted'on eachof the'rotatory sectionsof the said main arm.

6. New apparatus for re-training the muscles of the human body, preferably adapted to cases of lesions produced by infantile paralysis and other muscular diseases, as claimed in claim 1, wherein at the upper end of the supporting frame of the mainarm are adapted extensible and conveniently graduated arms provided with means for altering the height and angular displacement thereof, the free end of each of these arms carrying a grooved pulley around which passes a cable or the like provided at one of its ends with an adequately weighted counterweight, the other end of said cable being secured tothe end of one or theother of small rods rigidly mounted on each of the rotary sections of the said main arm, and

othermuscular diseases, as claimed in claiml,

wherein the central sections of the main arm are provided with supporting means Acapable of being `dism'ounted vand formed of a double, displaceable,

clamping ring from which is suspended a rectangular frame closed at its lowerportion by vmeans of a rotatable crossbar, the said'frame and cross-bar being provided with extensible means to vary the dimensions thereof, there being adapted also, at the inner portion of the said frame a displaceable plate convenientlyguided in a vertical direction, and forming a ,centralaperture at the lower edge of which is adapted a curved 43 ansa-018::

tions in: av vertical plane.

8; New apparatus for re-training the muscles u of the humanwbody, preferably adapted to cases of; lesions produced byinfantile paralysis, and

other muscular diseases,as claimedin claiml, wherein theoutermost seotion'of the rotatable arm carries xed thereto an annular support graduable in height and conveniently adapted to a sliding support, provided With means for secur- 5'- ing it to said section. Y

` SVEN GUSTAF SVENSSON. 

